


The Invaders

by CrayolaColor



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: also the graphic depictions of violence tag may not be neccesary, but i put it on there just in case, but you don't, canon divergence starting sometime between great expotations and queen for a day, my writing usually isn't THAT graphic, the entire latter half of season one doesn't happen, this is a very experimental fic but i hope you guys enjoy it anyway, varian still ends up getting horribly traumatized though !, warning for inevitable oocness with practically everyone except for raps and varian, you may think you know what the 'major character death' tag is referring to
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 18:00:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20643347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrayolaColor/pseuds/CrayolaColor
Summary: Corona faces a danger like they've never seen before. A group of invaders, an army born from a group of traitors that burned their kingdom to the ground long, long ago, seeks to do the same to Corona and it's allies and take their land for themselves. After a brutal first attack on the village of Old Corona, the kingdom's capital itself is next in line to be hit.The royal guard vastly outnumbered and outmatched, Rapunzel must take it upon herself to find another way to stop them. By her side are her boyfriend Eugene, best friend and lady in waiting Cassandra, and friend Varian- a young alchemist who witnessed what the invaders are capable of firsthand. They're also joined by new allies, such as a mysterious young woman named Yue, who seems to have some sort of past with the attackers, and Adira, a warrior from a far away kingdom that may have ties with Rapunzel's destiny.And on top of it all, a darkness still approaches. The black rocks continue to seek out the living embodiment of the Sundrop, Rapunzel, who's healing powers have recently returned. With both of these threats looming on the horizon, will they be able to save Corona from destruction? Or has the kingdom's time come to an end?





	The Invaders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working at this chapter for months off and on, and have probably completely rewritten it at least five times if not more, but I FINALLY got it done. This AU actually started off with this specific idea, and I just kind of continued it off of that. I considered starting it off with the actual attack on Old Corona, but I wasn't really sure what to do with that, so I just started it here. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this!!! It was fun to write, Lol.

Everything was a _blur_ to Varian. He ran through the castle halls, averting guards and others that worked in the castle at every turn. He had to find the throneroom. It had to be close, right? At least he _hoped_ it was, because he wasn't sure he could keep on running for much longer. He was vaguely aware in the back of his mind that running so far while he was injured had probably been a bad idea, but it was too late to go back now.  
  
Finally he spotted something promising- A pair of large doors, with two guards in front of it. That had to be it. He paused for a moment just out of the line of sight of the guards, just to recover slightly before he had to run past them. He was starting to feel dizzy. He didn't like it, but he ignored it as best he could. Taking a deep breath, he turned the corner and darted past the guards and through the doors before they had a chance to react.  
  
Coming to a stop in the middle of the room, the boy very briefly made eyecontact with the Queen. He gave her a sheepish smile, and then immediately collapsed to his knees, exhausted from running so far, and starting to become more and more aware of his injuries.  
  
"What's _happened!?_" Queen Arianna stood from her seat, possibly with the intention of going to check on the young alchemist, but someone else beat her to it.  
  
"_Varian!_"  
  
Hearing the familiar voice of the princess, he looked up in time to see her kneel down in front of him. He hadn't been expecting her to be in the throneroom, but he was relieved to see her. He'd barely even met her parents, but Rapunzel was his friend.  
  
"... Hi, Rapunzel." He said quietly. "I'm- I'm _really_ glad to see you, ahah."  
  
"What _happened_ to you, Varian?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes were wide with concern, and starting to brim with tears.  
  
The way she was acting made him suddenly wonder just how badly injured he actually was. He knew he was bleeding a lot- Something he'd been trying not to think about- But other than that he wasn't really sure.

He quickly decided he probably didn't want to know what Rapunzel was seeing, so instead of asking, he answered her question.  
  
"We- We've been _attacked_, princess." He informed her, raising his voice slightly so that her parents could hear him as well. "Some army j-just _ambushed_ us out of nowhere. M'dad sent- sent me for help, but I got caught t-trying to get out. Barely got away." It was incredibly lucky that he almost always had some of his alchemy materials on him. Otherwise he would have been defenseless, and it was very unlikely he would still be alive to talk about it. That was a terrifying thought, and not one he wanted to dwell on.  
  
"_Who's army_, Varian?" King Frederic spoke up for the first time. "Who did this?"  
  
He looked past Rapunzel, and frowned slightly as he noticed that his vision was significantly blurred, and he could barely even see the King. "Don't know, y-your majesty. They- They didn't t-tell us who they were. Just attacked out of- out of nowhere."  
  
"The Captain must be informed of this right away!" Queen Arianna said, looking to her husband. "Send some of the royal guard! They need help!"  
  
The king nodded. "Yes, of course." He looked back towards Varian. "Your father is an old friend of mine. I'd never dream of leaving him and his village defenseless."  
  
"Thank... y-you your... your majesty." He replied. Unfortunately the dizziness that he'd previously warded off was back with a vengeance, and he was having difficulties keeping it under control. In truth he was most likely on the verge of blacking out.  
  
It occurred to him that he really had lost a lot of blood. It was, again, something he didn't want to focus on- Afraid that thinking about it would make him end up fainting even quicker- But he realized that it really was a serious problem.  
  
Rapunzel had seemed to realize that as well, and turned quickly towards the King and Queen. "He needs help!" She motioned towards Varian. "He'll die if something isn't done about this!" She sounded legitimately afraid- Something he hadn't heard from her before, as far as he could remember.   
  
And then it hit him what she'd said, and a rush of fear went through him. Was he _dying?_ Had it really gotten that bad? Was that why he was getting increasingly more dizzy, finding it harder and harder to focus on what was going on around him?  
  
Suddenly panic stricken, the young alchemist started to tear up. He looked down, hoping that Rapunzel wouldn't notice, but she already had.  
  
"Oh, Varian, I'm sorry-! I didn't mean to scare you, I just..."  
  
She continued from there, but he couldn't understand her anymore. His hearing was muffled, and he was starting to feel like he couldn't breathe. He wasn't sure whether it was because he was panicking or because of his injuries, but either way it was only making his situation a whole lot worse. And it was that which sent him all the way over the edge, suddenly unable to keep any kind of control over the dizziness he'd been dealing with ever since he'd found the throneroom, and he finally ended up not being able to keep himself upright at all.  
  
The boy collapsed onto Rapunzel, who gasped and wrapped her arms around him out of instinct. She shouted something, probably his name, but he couldn't understand her at all, so he wasn't really sure what she had said. He looked up at her, giving her a weak smile in an attempt to reassure her. He'd be fine, right? But then, he really wasn't sure. His vision was becoming ever-blurrier, and things were starting to feel more distant and surreal, which led him to think he was slowly losing consciousness.   
  
He was fighting against it as best he could, afraid in the back of his mind that he'd never wake up if he didn't. But it was getting harder and harder to do. Even that fear was starting to fade, as he become less and less aware of his surroundings.  
  
Rapunzel, once again, said something to him. He still didn't understand.  
  
"'m s..sorry. I c..can't un..derstand y..you. Hearing's m..muffled." He told her, barely able to get the words out. Trying to speak had just depleted what little bit of strength the boy had left, and he finally gave up trying to keep his eyes open. He was vaguely aware of her lightly shaking him, but he didn't respond. _Sorry, Rapunzel._ And finally, after fighting it for so long, he let himself completely lose consciousness.  
  
\- - -  
  
The next thing he became aware of was Rapunzel's voice again. And it sounded like she was singing. Why was she singing? For that matter, he didn't remember what was going on at all. Still not fully awake, he tried to remember why he'd been sleeping to begin with. Then it hit him, and he snapped awake, bolting upright with a sharp gasp. He slid back from Rapunzel with wide eyes, blinking.

They were still in the same place they had been before, sitting in the middle of the throneroom. Rapunzel looked like she'd been crying, and her mother was now sitting beside her, staring at him with a hand over her mouth.  
  
Looking at the princess, he started to ask her what had happened, but when he met her gaze he found himself completely lost for words. There was some sort of mix of horror and relief on her face that made him briefly freeze, unsure what to make of it.  
  
"Rapunzel..?" He began, gaze never leaving her. "What just-"  
  
He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence, as within an instant she was up off the floor and pulling him to his feet and into a frighteningly tight hug.  
  
He almost screamed, startled by the sudden embrace, but managed to stifle it. The way she was acting scared him a little bit. What had happened? He knew he was hurt, and had evidently ended up blacking out, but she was acting like- Wait. He seemed to suddenly come to two realizations at once, neither of which sat well with him. Mostly because one lead to the other, decidedly more scary one.

"Wait, wait-" He pulled back from Rapunzel, taking a step back. "Did you heal me?" That was the only explanation he could come to for why he was suddenly fine, when he'd been severely injured what he assumed was only moments prior. But he almost wanted her to say no, just to save him from having to go to the next question.  
  
"...A-_Apparantly!?_" Rapunzel replied, confusion and shock lacing her voice. Her healing powers had presumably been lost quite some time ago, not even returning with her hair. But it certainly appeared as though they were back.  
  
"Okay..." Varian whispered, then hesitated. He didn't want to ask her the other question that had come to his mind. He didn't want to because he knew the answer _already_, and he didn't like it. But he had no choice. "Why?" He finally asked, once again meeting her gaze.  
  
"Huh? Why _wouldn't_ I, Varian!? I couldn't just-"  
  
"No, no, _Rapunzel_. That's not what I meant. I meant why did you think to do it to _begin with_? You- You thought your healing powers were gone, right? Why would you have...?" He trailed off, seeing her expression change as he clarified what he meant.  
  
There was a moment of very heavy silence.  
  
"Oh, Varian..."  
  
"Rapunzel, please, _stop_." The way she'd said it _hurt_. He could hear it in her voice, that she didn't want to tell him. She was putting it off, and he understood why- He wanted to put it off as well. But he had to know for sure, and he needed her to confirm it for him. Which was why it was incredibly frustrating that she wouldn't just give him the answer he was looking for. "I asked you a straightforward question. I want the straightforward answer!"  
  
The princess seemed like she was almost about to start crying again. "I-I _had to_, Varian. I had to try _something_."  
  
That still didn't tell him what he needed to know. He was almost sure the suspense was worse than actually being told the truth, and he was frankly getting tired of it. "Okay, but _why?_ What _happened_ Rapunzel, why- why couldn't you have-..." He stopped, and trailed off. There was no point in keeping on pressing her in that way. He needed to just ask her outright what he was wanting to know.

"Rapunzel... Did- Did I _die?_"  
  
She fell silent, tears rolling down her cheeks. And then finally, she nodded. "Yes."  
  
And there it was. It was the answer he'd been fully expecting, but that didn't prevent it from hitting him like a ton of bricks. The boy's breath hitched, and he took a small step back from her. He was starting to tear up again. He'd practically begged her to tell him, and he'd needed to know, but he was absolutely sure now that he hadn't wanted to know. He could barely wrap his mind around it.

"Varian...? I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

He didn't answer her. He couldn't. He didn't even know what to say. He was most definitely not okay, but he couldn't just say that. Instead, he caved to his first instinct, that he just wanted to get out there as quickly as possible. He took another step back, then turned and took off back out the doors, slamming them shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yes, Rapunzel has her healing powers back and I established that in the first chapter. I have plans that're going to eventually tie in to the canon plot of the series as well, so stay tuned for that. But, one thing I should clarify right now is that Rapunzel is not going to be able to do this for everyone in the fic.
> 
> I'm going to give her healing powers the limitation that she can only revive someone if she was there when they died and is able to do it immediately, so to not completely kill all the tension. This'll most likely come into play later on, so again, stay tuned!


End file.
